May 23rd, 2013 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Cafes | 2 Comments »
Soda Pony in Newtown will evoke your high-school reading list while serving you some fine slow-cooked beans on sourdough. One verdict is that they’re the best around (or at least, equal tied with Rag Land in Redfern). Named after Ponyboy and Sodapop Curtis in S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, the cafe pushes its tribute to […]
April 29th, 2013 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Favourites, Restaurants | 3 Comments »
Adding to the outbreak of great new places in the Newtown/Enmore area is Osteria di Russo & Russo, which just opened on Enmore Road. The laziest of glances would suggest that it’s just another Italian restaurant, but this establishment is full of take-you-by-surprise qualities. The endearingly old-school interiors have a time-warp feel, but the menu […]
April 15th, 2013 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Bars, Favourites | 12 Comments »
Mary’s in Newtown has had many former lives – it’s been a Greek sporting club, a women’s sanctuary, a Masonic hall and an STD clinic. Now, it’s one of the best new bars in Sydney. The creative DNA of Mary’s is impressive: it’s run by Jake Smyth of Bodega and Kenny Graham of Porteno. Helping […]
March 28th, 2013 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Shops | 2 Comments »
My collection box of Easter memories is pretty small. I grew up with Buddhist parents, so I was off the hook when it came to the religious significance of the holiday. Mainly, I remember peeling foil off chocolate, and knowing that the little solid eggs were nowhere near as prized as the large hollow ones […]
February 27th, 2013 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Shops | 1 Comment »
Good news – the Real Food Pop-Up has re-emerged, this time in Newtown. The store first appeared late last year in Darlinghurst, focusing on hand-crafted, locally made and sustainable goods – think honey collected from nearby suburbs (The Urban Beehive) or muesli made in Surry Hills (Farmer Jo). Real Food is now making a welcome […]
February 21st, 2013 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Restaurants | 4 Comments »
If you need to step up your birthday-cake game, then get something made by Hartsyard. Pastry chef Andrew Bowden will produce something that’s traffic-stopping and stunning. I recently placed an order for a party and the resulting creation was so good-looking, it probably deserved star management and its own agent. The restaurant does custom orders […]
December 28th, 2012 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
You can now visit the beach without needing a towel, suncream and battle plans for finding an unclaimed spot by the shoreline. MakMak Macarons’ Pop-up Shop in Newtown evokes the surf with a store adorned with shells, floaties, beach balls (some mid-bounce), the occasional (fake) seagull and more than 100 kilograms of sand. And, to […]
October 24th, 2012 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Podcasts | 1 Comment »
OK, so sometimes you get so busy that you need to hide out somewhere and unscrew your brain for a while. But, sometimes you also need to haul your blog into gear – just out of courtesy, you know? So thank you very kindly for dropping by, even if this joint has just been a […]
June 11th, 2012 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Favourites, Restaurants | 7 Comments »
The old Gourmet Viking site in Newtown has been regenerated into Hartsyard, a brilliant new restaurant run by Gregory Llewellyn and Naomi Hart. The couple score “A for effort” on many fronts: for making their own cocktail syrups, coaxing heirloom vegetables and intriguing herbs from their own greenhouse/garden and ingeniously constructing bar shelves from plumbing […]
March 10th, 2012 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »
If you’re in Newtown and have Thai restaurant overload, new fine-diner Spencer Guthrie is a brilliant option. In fact, the site for Troy Spencer and Oliver Guthrie’s new venture actually had a former life serving wokfuls of pad thai, but the owners have reworked it into a smart, understated 30-seater, with bentwood chairs, exposed walls […]